Method of making a summer shoe



March 18, 1969 ufi k ET AL 3,432,869

METHOD OF MAKING A SUMMER SHOE Filed June 21, 1967 Wan/ nf United States Patent Office 3,432,869 Patented Mar. 18, 1969 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A summer shoe having open heel and toe portions is made by first securing the upper to the circumference of a pliable insole to which a string is also sewn by overedge stitching. The assembly is pulled over a last, and an intermediate sole is placed on the exposed face of the innersole whose circumference together with the attached portion of the upper is then wrapped over the edge of the intermediate sole by tightening the string, whereupon an outsole is attached.

Background the invention The invention relates to the manufacture of summer shoes having open toe and heel portions, and particularly to the manufacture of a shoe whose upper essentially consists of straps attached to the shoe bottom.

The methods employed heretofore for making summer shoes with open heels and toes are relatively complex. In one method representative of conventional practice, an innersole having a base layer of impregnated cardboard and an adhesively secured top layer of felt, polyurethane foam, or similar resilient material is provided on its bottom side with a filler whose edge is recessed. One face and the edge of this laminate is then wrapped with pliable textile material or imitation leather (plastic sheet), and the wrapping is secured by a seam of decorative stitches.

The wrapped insole assembly is temporarily secured to the sole surface of a last. Individual straps are pulled over the last, their ends are inserted in the recesses of the filler and secured by temporary fasteners or clamps, and the outsole is then attached to the insole and the upper.

The method requires a highly skilled operator and is rather slow. It the positions of the strap ends are not precisely maintained by temporary fasteners or clamps while the outsole is being attached, the shoe produced is weak and has a short useful life.

The object of the instant invention is the provision of a method of making shoes of the type described which avoids the shortcomings of the conventional method. More specifically, the invention aims at a method which requires less time of an operator, can be performed by relatively unskilled workers, and still produces a shoe superior on an average to that obtained in the known manner.

Summary of the invention According to this invention, the upper, which may consist only of a few straps or may otherwise be formed with a toe opening and a heel opening, is attached to the circumferential portion of a pliable insole. A lasting string is also attached to the same insole portion. The upper and insole are pulled over a last in such a manner as to expose the outer face of the insole on which an intermediate sole is placed. The circumferential insole portion is drawn over the edge portion of the intermediate sole by tightening the lasting string until the edge portion is wrapped by the circumferential portion of the insole, and a portion of the upper adjacent this circumferential portion is pulled over the edge portion of the intermediate sole. A filler may then be placed over the central portion of the intermediate sole not covered by the pulled over insole, and an outer-sole is attached last in any conventional manner to the circumferential insole portion and to the adjacent portion of the upper.

The exact nature of this invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will be readily apparent from consideration of the following description of a preferred embodiment relating to the annexed drawing.

Brief description of the drawing In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe upper attached to a pliable insole and to a lasting string in a first step of the method of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the intermediate sole prior to its assembly with the upper and insole; and

FIG. 3 illustrates the upper, insole, and intermediate sole of FIGS. 1 and 2, assembled on a last and ready to receive the outsole.

Description of the preferred embodiment A summer shoe with openings at the heel and toe is prepared according to the method of the invention from two sub-assemblies respectively shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The partly assembled shoe shown in FIG. 1 includes an insole 1 of pliable material, such as natural or imitation leather, or textile, and two straps 2, 3 whose ends are sewn to circumferential portions of the insole in such a manner that the straps intersect each other above the instep of the wearer. After the straps 2, 3 are fastened to the insole 1, a lasting string 4 is attached to the circumference of the insole 1 by overedge stitches which additionally fasten the straps 2, 3 to the insole and permit sliding movement of the string 4. The stitching of the string 4 to the insole starts at a peripheral point of the insole intermediate the toe and heel ends thereof and continues toward and around the toe end, then toward and around the heel end, again toward and around the toe end, and finally to another point intermediate the toe and heel ends.

An intermediate sole 5 made of impregnated cardboard is covered in a separate operation with a resilient facing layer 6 of felt, polyurethane foam, or the like and the second sub-assembly so prepared is shown in FIG. 2.

A last K is inserted into the straps 2, 3 in the usual manner so that the outer face of the insole 1 is exposed facing upwardly in the usual operating position of the last illustrated in FIG. 3. The intermediate sole 5 with its facing layer 6 is centered on the exposed outer face of the insole 1, and is temporarily secured in proper alignment with the insole 1 and the last K by clamps or by an adhesive.

If necessary, the insole 1 and the end portions of the straps 2, 3 adjacent the insole are softened by the radiant heat of an infrared lamp and are then drawn over the edge of the intermediate sole 5 by tightening the lasting string 4 until the circumferential portion 8 of the insole is wrapped about the edge of the intermediate sole assembly 5, 6. The central portion of the intermediate sole assembly is covered by a filler 7 of felt, rubber, or the like, and the free ends of the string 4 are tacked to the intermediate and inner soles. The straps 2, 3 are tensioned over the last K by the tightening of the string 4. The shoe is now ready for receiving the outsole, and is shown in FIG. 3.

The outsole, not itself seen in FIG. 3, may consist of leather and be attached by means of conventional celluloid leather cement applied over the entire inner face of the outsole before it is pressed against the circumferential portion 8 of the insole 1, the end portions of the straps 2, 3, and the filler 7 in the usual manner. A rubber sole may be directly vulcanized to the other elements of the shoe in an analogous manner.

The completed shoe thus has an outsole (not shown), the intermediate sole 5, 6, the insole 1 which covers the inner face of the intermediate sole and whose circumferential portion 8 extends about the edge portion on the outer face of the intermediate sole 5, 6 and is directly fastened to the outsole, and the upper 2, 3 whose end portions are received between the circumferential portion of the insole and the outsole, and are fastened to the circumferential portion of the insole contiguously adjacent the cord 4.

The straps 2, 3 are so securely fastened to the shoe bottom that they cannot be detached from the bottom during the useful life of the shoe, a relatively frequent defect of similar shoes when made by the initially described conventional method. The simplicity of the method of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the preceding description.

We claim:

1. A method of making a shoe having an open heel portion and an open toe portion, comprising:

(a) circumferentially securing an upper formed with a toe opening and a heel opening to an insole, said insole having a circumferential portion and an outer face,

(b) circumferentially and slidably securing a lasting string to said insole,

(c) pulling said upper together with said insole over a last, thereby exposing said outer face of said insole,

(d) placing an intermediate sole on said exposed outer face of said insole, said intermediate sole having a central portion and an annular edge portion about said central portion,

(e) drawing said circumferential portion of said insole over said annular edge portion of said intermediate sole by tightening said lasting string until the circumferential portion of said insole is wrapped round, and end portions of said upper are pulled over, the annular edge portion of said intermediate sole, and

(t) securing an outsole to said circumferential portion of said insole and to said end portions of said upper.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said upper includes a plurality of elongated strap members, longitudinal end portions of said strap members being respectively secured to said circumferential portion of said insole prior to said placing of said intermediate sole on said exposed outer face.

3. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said lasting string is secured to said insole along approximately one and a half times the peripheral length thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 337,483 3/1886 Cross 12-145 2,746,177 5/1956 Maccarone 12145 X 3,230,559 1/1966 Mayer 12-145 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. 

